New Delhi, Sept. 17 -- In a judgment with major implications for land ownership in Haryana as well as for the sensitive Aravalli ranges, the Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside its April 2022 ruling that had directed the return of village commons to gram panchayats, dealing a blow to the state government's efforts to reclaim thousands of acres of land. The court upheld the correctness of a 2003 full bench decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had held that unutilised land, not specifically earmarked for common purposes during consolidation, would continue to vest with proprietors rather than the panchayat or the state. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai and justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan concluded that the 2022 ruling erred in ignoring binding precedent and constitutional principles. "We have therefore no hesitation in holding that no error could be noticed in the impugned judgment and final order of the full bench of the high court. lands which have not been earmarked for any specific purpose do not vest in the Gram Panchayat or the State," the court held while dismissing Haryana's appeal. The bench traced the roots of the dispute to the landmark Bhagat Ram Vs State of Punjab (1967) decision, where a five-judge constitution bench had drawn a crucial distinction between acquisition of land by the State and modification or extinguishment of private rights. It held that unless possession of land changed hands under Section 24 of the Consolidation Act, management and control would not vest in the panchayat. In other words, land contributed by proprietors during consolidation but not earmarked for common use continued to belong to the contributors. The court noted that the 2022 ruling, which ordered reclamation of lands sold by proprietors or gram panchayats for monetary gain, did not take into account the constitution bench judgment in Bhagat Ram case and thus reached a conclusion contrary to settled law. htc...